Prelude to Limbo
by honu59
Summary: When Danny is found unconscious under mysterious circumstances, Five-O's newest detective is the first to respond in this missing scene from the Season 5 episode "Journey out of Limbo".


_**A.N. **__– Hawaii Five-O belongs to CBS. No copyright infringement is intended. _

_I have always wondered about the other half of Steve's very brief phone conversation in the governor's office at the beginning of "Journey out of Limbo". That speculation led me to write this missing scene. Steve's lines toward the end of the story are taken from the episode, so are not my own words. Thanks to "Tanith2011" for beta reading this._

_A very happy and healthy 2013 to all my wonderful readers!_

**Prelude to Limbo**

"He's Five-O, I tell ya, call the police!" Art Bellak growled after getting a good look at the limp body that was partially covered with the sand dumped from his truck.

"How do you know?" countered one of the construction workers, who was on his knees, clearing sand away from the unconscious man's nose and mouth. "There's no ID on him. I checked."

"Trust me, I know!" Art nervously ran a hand through his thick grey hair and wiped the sweat from his brow. "And I can't afford to get into any trouble with my parole officer!"

It was true, Bellak didn't need this. He had a delivery schedule to keep and was doing his darned best to keep his nose clean. He continued to grumble curses under his breath, annoyed at his unfortunate involvement with something that was clearly not his fault. One of the men ran for the pay phone while the others continued to clear the sand away from the still figure.

"Hey, don't move him, we don't know how bad he's hurt!" Bellak barked.

o-o-o

"_Central to all units,"_ the radio sprang to life, ending the mid-morning calm_. "Ambulance requested at the Pacific Palms construction site off Kalaniana'ole highway. Possible officer down. Please respond." _

Ben Kokua grabbed the mic from the dashboard. "Central, this is Kokua responding, ETA five minutes."

Ben was on his way back to the Palace after making final security arrangements for a visiting Chinese dignitary, and he happened to be close to the Pacific Palms site. He pulled into the parking lot to find a group of men in hard hats crowded around a pile of sand beside a dump truck. The tall Samoan officer clad in a grey business suit exited the car, approached the assembly and flashed his badge.

"Ben Kokua, Five-O; let me through," he ordered.

The construction men moved to the side to make room, allowing Ben a good view of the injured man and with it, instant recognition. "Danny!" Ben gasped, quickly dropping to his knees to check his friend for a pulse. Relieved that Dan was still alive, Ben shook his shoulder. "Danny? Danny, can you hear me?" Getting no response, he gently brushed more sand from Dan's face and tried to assess the young man's condition before looking back up at the workers. "What happened?" he demanded bluntly.

"No idea, bruddah!" a lanky Hawaiian worker answered, shrugging his shoulders. "He come outta da truck dat way with da sand."

"Come on, man, you can do better than that," Ben snapped sharply.

"It's the truth, sir, we don't know nothing else," Bellak defended his coworker, his gravelly voice sounding indignant. "And we already called for an ambulance."

As if on cue, a wailing siren signaled the imminent arrival of medical help. The blaring sound dropped in pitch then disappeared altogether as the emergency vehicle turned into the lot. Ben rose from his squatted position as the attendants were unloading the stretcher from the back.

"Over here!" he shouted, motioning the paramedics over to Danny. "Well?" he asked impatiently while they were loading the unconscious detective onto the stretcher.

"Looks like a head injury; we'll know more when we get him to Queen's."

After Danny was secured and the stretcher loaded into the back of the ambulance, Ben grabbed the attendant's arm to get his attention. "Call Dr. Bergman at the county morgue and have him meet you at Queen's."

"Will do, sir!" It seemed like a strange request, but the paramedic was not going to question the officer's instructions.

o-o-o

With Danny en route to the hospital, Ben sprinted back to his car and grabbed the mic off the dashboard.

"Central, this is Kokua. Patch me through to McGarrett." Fortunately, Ben's voice was steady and didn't betray the fear he was feeling. Danny didn't look good at all and Ben couldn't block out the dire scenarios that were parading through his head. He anxiously paced in a short path next to his car. _How am I going to break this to Steve?_ he wondered. The small number of seconds before the dispatch operator's voice responded seemed a lot longer.

"_Central to Kokua. Mr. McGarrett is with the governor. Patching you through to the governor's office."_ A few more seconds and Ben heard Governor Jameson's greeting. Ben hurriedly asked to speak to his boss.

"_Yeah, Ben,"_ McGarrett answered tersely.

"Steve, I'm at the Pacific Palms development site. Danny was just dumped from the back of a truck with a load of sand. He's alive, Steve, but he's unconscious and nobody here knows anything. He's on his way to the hospital now and I'll be right behind the ambulance." Ben spoke as quickly and clearly as he could, taking care to include the most important facts.

"_What hospital?" _McGarrett asked, his throat suddenly very dry as his heart raced in his chest.

"Queen's; Bergman's already been alerted," Ben replied. "I'll call you back when I get there."

"_No, I'm on my way." _Ben also heard his boss's short _"Excuse me, sir." _to the governor before the connection was severed.

The Samoan detective tossed the mic back onto the dashboard and gunned the engine of the car, determined to catch up with the ambulance. He could feel his own heart pounding as he hit the siren and increased his speed. Worried as he was about Dan, he was also concerned for his boss. He knew about the bond between Steve and Dan; everyone did. And he knew that he had just frightened Steve in the worst way possible. But he had had no other choice.

o-o-o

Ben pulled into the emergency entrance of Queen's hospital within seconds of the ambulance transporting Danny. He was out of his car, waiting impatiently at the rear of the vehicle, hands on hips, even before the driver had left his seat. His eyes were locked onto the patient while the two paramedics carefully lifted him out.

A flash of black steel and the squeal of tires announced McGarrett's arrival. The senior detective hit the sidewalk and reached the stretcher before Kokua could utter even a word.

"Okay, hold it!" Steve ordered the paramedics, his tone grave and full of authority. The two men complied by easing the stretcher onto the pavement. Steve bent down and firmly grasped Danny's arms. "Danno?"

Getting no response from his second-in-command, Steve glanced over Danny's scraped sweaty face and his torn grimy clothing. The young man's stillness pushed the dark haired cop's tight control closer to panic. Steve tightened his grip on Danny's arms. "Danno!"

This time Ben detected an edge of fear in his boss's voice; this from a man considered by most to be fearless.

"Okay, take him," McGarrett told the attendants, his tone more subdued. Steve straightened up, his eyes following the stretcher as it disappeared into the entrance of the emergency room.

Kokua's mind was racing. Danny's care was now in Bergman's capable hands, so Ben's concerns shifted once more to his tough and often distant boss, who he knew was frantic with worry, even as the big man tried to conceal it. He released a deep breath. Nothing to do now but wait. He followed McGarrett through the double doors and stood close by, silently watching the lead detective pace.

**Pau**


End file.
